Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies
by The Semi-Great Enigma
Summary: Tenchi has to save the world, again, with the help of a knight. Original Charaters with TM! cast. PROLOGUE AND CHAPTER 1 ARE UP! REVIEW PLEASE!
1. Prologue: A Definite Need for Tenchi

Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies  
  
Prologue: A Definite Need for Tenchi  
  
By Alex "The Semi-Great Enigma Curtindolph  
  
Summery: Tenchi must save the world, again, with a little help from a knight.  
  
Disclaimer: "Tenchi Muyo!," its characters, and any related images, written or otherwise, are the properties of AIC/Pioneer. Their use is not, nor is it intended to be cannon, and no monetary compensation was given for the creation of this work. All other characters are the creation of Alexander Curtindolph and Luis Angelo Rojas III, and are not to be used  
  
without proper credit in any work. Thank You.  
  
Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies  
  
Prologue: A Definite Need for Tenchi!  
  
It had been raining in Okayama, Japan for the past three days. Liam didn't mind, however. It suited his mood. He had been standing in the middle of the street since seven in the evening, with his rain-soaked red hair in his emerald-green eyes. The lips of his freckled face were curled into a sinister sneer as he gazed at the empty streets of the city. From the darkness, a figure stepped into the light of a nearby streetlamp. Liam remained in the shadows, just in case.  
  
It had been over three days since he left his home world of Chima in search of the Shadow Demon, Beelzebub. Liam remembered his grandfather telling him that Beelzebub was one of the most powerful demons ever created. It had been sleeping in a windy cavern that was a three-day journey away from William Castle, his home. Now that he had been awoken, and was under the control of a man other than the one who created him, Liam knew that he had to be stopped.  
  
Liam had no armor as he usually did when entering battle. He simply wore a green tee shirt over an oversized, black, turtleneck sweater with khaki pants and orange hi-top sneakers. 'I have to be inconspicuous,' he thought, 'so nobody here gets suspicious and finds out I'm an alien.' He wore a pair of leather gloves with metal plates covering the back of the hands and knuckles. Imbedded into the metal plates were round, crimson jewels. He pressed the jewel on his left gauntlet and it began to glow. The shimmer of the gem spread throughout his hand and increased in brightness. With a dull flash of red light, a sword appeared in his hand.  
  
The sword was incredibly long. The blade itself was as long as Liam was tall, and fashioned in the style of a broad sword. The hilt of the sword was an orb made of emerald, from which two, slightly abstract dragon wings protruded, one on each side. The wings were made of gold. The handle of the weapon was made of the same metal as the blade, covered with leather that was tied onto it with a scarlet rope with a tassel. Liam grabbed the sword tightly and looked out once again to the figure in the streetlight.  
  
It indeed was the Beelzebub. His coarse, white hair was drenched with rainwater. It fell on his face in such a way that it contoured his pale- yellow head. His eyes were as black as coal, and stared into the darkness where Liam stood for many a long, grueling second. No other parts of his figure could be seen, as a terry-cloth cloak covered it.  
  
"Come forth from the shadows, Great Knight of Draconus," the insect man beckoned. "Come, and accept your fate, in the name of the most high, and omnipotent deity, Tokimi."  
  
Liam stepped out of the shadows and into another streetlight, five yards away from Beelzebub. On his right shoulder was a small, white animal. It had elongated cat's ears and the bushy tail of a squirrel. Its body was similar to that of a rabbit. Its orange eyes looked into the dark pupils of Beelzebub and remained there for several moments. Around its neck was a red collar with a amethyst at its center, cut into a small triangle with rounded corners.  
  
"You may as well give up, Beelzebub," the creature said, with a voice like that of a sarcastic Californian man after breathing in a dry gallon of helium. "We gotcha surrounded."  
  
"Really?" teased the Shadow Demon. "By whom, may I ask?"  
  
"By them," said Liam. At that moment, Beelzebub could sense four other silhouetted figures advancing towards him. He knew that he only had one chance of escaping alive, and that he had to take it now. The Calgio would not be pleased with him taking such a foolish risk, but it had to be done. He lunged forward towards Liam and his gremlin, West. He bared his long talons and sharp fangs at the duo as he prepared to attack. West hopped off of Liam's shoulder and landed on his hind feet. The boy grabbed his massive broadsword and shifted himself into a fighting position.  
  
"Bring it on, bug boy," taunted Liam, although he was secretly pumping himself up for the confrontation that was about to begin. "I'll squash you flat."  
  
It was raining in the mountainous region northwest of the city of Okayama, and Tenchi, the dutiful young man that he was, knew that he could not tend to his grandfather's fields as he planed to. He sat looking at the gray, dreary sky out from the living room window of his house. His life had become so complicated since all of these alien women moved into his house. He needed to get out, to get away from the seemingly orchestrated anarchy that dwelled underneath his roof. Taking care of the fields and going to school were his only respites from the five girls that constantly vied for his affection. Two in particular were a daily threat to his sanity.  
  
He turned his head to the couch where Ryoko and Aeka sat. They were a lesson in extremes. Ryoko, with her feral golden eyes and spiky cyan hair, was the ever-predatory huntress. She would use every tactic possible to attract Tenchi, like a Venus flytrap lures insects with its sweet smell. Aeka, on the other hand, was a more defensive person. Her proper upbringing would never allow her to be as straight forward as her rival. Instead, the violet haired princess would use her purity, if one could call it that, to persuade Tenchi that she was the one for him.  
  
Each of the aforementioned ladies sat at opposite ends of the couch, and was about to turn on the TV to watch soap operas. Aeka's sister, Sasami, was in the kitchen washing up the last of the dishes. The residential scientist, Washu, was in her sub-space laboratory, doing Kami knows what. Mihoshi, the clumsy Galaxy Police officer, had just come downstairs to watch with the others. Since it was a Sunday, and there was nothing to do, Tenchi reluctantly decided to watch the show with them as well. He took one last look at his faint reflection in the window. He looked into his own brown eyes and said, "Man, I'm bored."  
  
The sprightly, blue haired Sasami came and sat next to Mihoshi on the couch, and Tenchi sat next to her. 'She's the only one who won't hit on me,' he thought to himself.  
  
"Hey, Sasami," he said, "what are you watching?"  
  
"Oh, hiya, Tenchi," the little princess said, quietly, "Jinroe is about to tell Misako that she is her father."  
  
"But, weren't they going out together?" asked Mihoshi.  
  
"No, baka," said Ryoko from the other side of the couch, "that was Takashiro." Tenchi decided to simply stay quiet and watch the show, in the hopes that everything would become clear. As Jinroe began to tell his recently discovered father the truth, there came a knock at the door. Tenchi looked to see that none would answer the door. He sighed as he got up from his seat.  
  
"I'll get it," he said as he walked to the door. He saw that clearly nothing except nuclear Armageddon would pull those women away from the screen.  
  
A tall young man with long brown hair stood at the door. His hair was tied into a braided ponytail in the back, which was held together by a blue ribbon. He wore an orange long sleeved shirt with a v-neck, and loose brown pants held up with a thin, yellow sash; all of which were wet from the constant rain. In his arms was Liam, pale and cold from exposure to the harsh elements. The young man hoped that someone was home. The poison that Beelzebub had injected Liam with last night would take effect soon if it wasn't treated quickly.  
  
The door opened to a teenaged boy about his age. He had short, spiky, black hair with a short ponytail in the back. He wore a worn brown sweater and jeans. What struck the pony tailed boy as odd, however, was that he wore no shoes in his house. It didn't matter to him, though. Someone answered, and perhaps he could help.  
  
"Pardon me, sir," the pony tailed boy said, "my name is Pierce, and my friend, Liam, is in dire need of medical attention. Could you help us?" All the other boy could understand was the word help. He looked at Liam and placed a hand on his forehead. It was cold, and felt as though it was getting colder. The boy said something in Japanese, a language that Pierce did not comprehend. When he saw the confused look on his face, he motioned for Pierce to come in. Pierce bowed his head in thanks and entered the house.  
  
As he entered, Pierce noticed several strange women sitting in front of a glowing box with moving pictures flashing on it. 'That must be this television that Liam told me about,' he thought. His view shifted to the girls. The closest to him wore several colorful robes, one on top of another, which were tied together by a violet sash. Her red eyes were glazed over from viewing the odd box. The incandescent glow of the 'TV' washed over her long, purple hair Seated to her right on the sofa was a blonde woman with a very thorough tan. Her large blue eyes were welling up with tears. 'Whatever she is watching,' thought Pierce, 'it must be very engaging for her to cry over a box.' She wore a pink jersey shirt and khaki pants.  
  
His focus then shifted to the small girl who sat over from the blonde. 'What sort of child has blue hair?' the young man asked himself. Her hair was, indeed, blue as the sky at noon, and was tied into a long pigtail on either side of her head. Her eyes were almost the same color as the violet haired woman at the other end of the couch, but softer. Her clothing was almost the some as the same woman, whom he believed was a relative of this girl, except that she wore pants underneath the robes. Perched atop her head was a rabbit. At least, he thought it was a rabbit. Its ears were as long as its body, and its feet were longer than average. The head of the creature looked like that of a cat, and it would occasionally give a soft meowing sound.  
  
He decided not to focus on these women unless he needed their aid and turned to the young man who had let him enter his home. He seemed to be pleading with these women, and making no progress. The young man gave an exasperated sigh and turned to Pierce. He inclined his head, as if to say, "Follow me." He turned and walked up a flight of stairs behind the couch. Pierce heaved Liam further into his arms and followed. He walked up the stairs and followed his host to a room to his immediate left. Pierce then laid the boy in the bed in that room.  
  
"You stay," said the boy, in what little English he knew, "I'll get towels and help." He then left the room. Pierce sat at the head of the bed and looked into Liam's face, hoping for any sign of recovery. "I'm sorry about last night, Liam," he said. "I should have been able to stop Beelzebub from hurting you, but I couldn't. I have failed you."  
  
Liam began to stir and opened his eyes. He looked at Pierce with weak, understanding eyes. "It's okay," he said softly, "I just wish that West was here. He's the only other one of us that knows Japanese."  
  
"He would also use a magic spell to eliminate the poison Wasp the Beelzebub injected into you," said Pierce, who was relieved that Liam was awake.  
  
"I hope so," Liam said. "We need to get back out there and stop that Shadow Demon. The others are scattered between Okayama and Tokyo, and who knows what Wasp may have done to 'em. I don't know how long they could last against him. 'Specially with that other guy controllin' him… What was his name? Calgio?"  
  
"Yes," replied Pierce. "The only way is to find the boy named Tenchi who was in Rose's dream."  
  
"I hope we can find him," said Liam as their host returned with several towels. He handed one to Pierce and then gave one to Liam. He said something to Liam in Japanese and Liam responded in kind.  
  
"What did he say?" asked Pierce.  
  
"He said that he's glad I'm okay and that help is coming," answered the boy. At that moment, a girl with long red hair entered the room. Her eyes were almost as green as Liam's. She wore a green sweater with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of shorts. Her hair was tied in the back with a purple cloth that was similar to a turban. She looked at the teenager lying on the bed and said, "Ohayo, guinea pig." This sent a cold chill down Liam's spine.  
  
"What did the woman say?" inquired Pierce.  
  
"Somethin' that makes me wish I were well," Liam said nervously.  
  
"Washu, stop scaring him like that," said Tenchi. He looked to the young man that stood in front of him, and then to the young man lying on his bed. He wasn't certain of whether they were friends or foes, but considering all of the adventures and misadventures that he had since the girls moved in, he wasn't about to take any chances. He kept one hand prepared to use the laser sword Tenchi-Ken, just in case. "Anyway," he continued, "Only this boy speaks Nihongo," he pointed to the red headed boy on his bed, "so I don't know what's wrong. Do you think that you could?…"  
  
"Create a universal translator so we could understand each other?" finished Washu. "Sure, just gimme a sec." She held her arms in front of her and a holographic laptop computer appeared suspended in the air ahead of her. She began to type rapidly, much to the surprise of their guests. The tall visitor said something in awe and the bed-riddled one seemed to agree.  
  
"Actually," said Tenchi, "I was gonna say 'scan the boy to see what was wrong,' but I guess that'll work, too." The two young men then looked to Tenchi, quite surprised.  
  
"You mean, what that woman did doesn't strike you as strange?" asked the taller one.  
  
"No, I'm used to it…" Tenchi replied, absently. He quickly did a double take as he looked at the teen with a ponytail. "You just spoke to me, didn't you?"  
  
"It is just now that I am able to understand you," he answered.  
  
"The translator is now activated," said Washu proudly. She turned to the redhead. "Now, what's wrong?"  
  
"I got poisoned fighting this guy named Beelzebub," answered the boy, "and I guess I stayed out in the rain too long."  
  
"I see," said Washu. She started typing on her holo-computer again. "Ah," she said after about thirty seconds, "this ought to do it." She pressed a button on her console and a small, black hole appeared next to her computer. She reached into the hole and pulled out a hypodermic needle filled with a red serum. She administered the serum into the boy's arm. In seconds the color returned to his freckled face. He slowly sat up in the bed and dried himself off with the towel Tenchi had laid out for him.  
  
"Wait, isn't Beelzebub a myth?" asked Tenchi.  
  
"What is myth in this world is real in ours," answered Pierce.  
  
"And what world is that?" queried Washu. Tenchi was silently praying that the answer was not Jurai. He did not want to house any more aliens from there. He was pleasantly surprised when the redhead said "Chima." Washu began typing again and then suddenly stopped. "There's nothing on this Chima in my files," she said.  
  
"Why're you looking for our planet in your files, Miss?…" asked the boy.  
  
"Washu, LITTLE Washu," the diminutive scientist proclaimed. "I'm looking for your planet because I thought I had heard of it a long time ago, But no information is coming up in my files."  
  
"Perhaps your files are incomplete," suggested the taller one.  
  
"No way!" protested Washu, "I am the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe! I have files on everything. If I don't have it, then it must not exist. Unless…" She began to type on her computer again, when a knock came at Tenchi's door.  
  
"Tenchi-sama, we have a visitor," the voice announced. It sounded like Aeka. "I don't know who he is, but he says he is looking for a young man named Liam."  
  
"That's me," said the redheaded boy. "Ask her what this visitor looks like."  
  
"Okay," replied Tenchi. "Hey, Aeka, what does the visitor look like?"  
  
"Um, he has red eyes, long ears, scars on his face, and a tail like a dog," Aeka answered.  
  
"That's Manji, Pierce," said Liam. "He musta been worried about me. I gotta talk to him." He got up from the bed quickly, and hobbled to the door. Before he could reach it, however, he tripped on his own feet and his nose swiftly became acquainted with his host's floor. "Owwie."  
  
Manji had been sitting next to Ryoko on the couch for five minutes. He looked up at her, and silently made note that she looked like one of his kind. Her yellow eyes were like a cat's. Her hair was long and spiky, in the weirdest color of blue he had ever seen. Her ears were long, like his, and she had elongated canine teeth similar to his fangs. She was dressed in a blue and green striped one-piece dress with a tight black undershirt. A tail stuck out from the back of the dress, but Manji wasn't sure whether it was real or not.  
  
She continued to gaze at him as well. She stared at his deep crimson eyes and the scars that ran down his left eye and criss-crossed at the crown of his nose. His skin was as dark as cocoa butter, and looked just as smooth. His tanned face was crowned with locks of spiky brown hair, arranged in such a way that his face resembled a disfigured porcupine. He wore an oversized green turtleneck sweater and loose gray pants. His boots were caked with mud and soot. On his forearms were metal guards attached to his leather gauntlets. Two cylindered tubes ran the length of the arm guards, and the end of two pointed blades were seen sticking out of the cylinders. He continued to look at Ryoko and said, "While we are waiting for Liam, would you like to fight me?"  
  
Ryoko was a bit stunned. She had suspected that this dog-boy was trouble, but instead of simply starting a battle, he called her out like a little child at school. He smiled at her and pressed the matter further. "I need to get stronger so we can fight the demon. I can sense that you are very strong. I would love to fight with you, if I may."  
  
"What demons?" asked Aeka as she came down the stairs. "The only demonic creature we know of is sitting next to you sir." Ryoko was about to rebut that comment with an insult of her own, when Manji intervened.  
  
"She's not a demon," he said. "If she were a demon, my claws would have glowed red, and then I would have to kill her. But, there is one in the city. We had to leave because it was too powerful. We need the help of a man called 'Tenchi.' It should be reported on, what is it called? The news?"  
  
Ryoko changed the channel from the soap opera to the local news.  
  
Click. "In our top local story, police officials are baffled as to how a swarm of large wasps, ants, dragonflies, and other insects have entered the city of Okayama unnoticed. The Japanese Self Defense Force has tried to capture and destroy the mutant insects, but to no avail. Residents are advised to stay at home and lock all of their doors until given further notice. For more on the subject of entomology, here's… Click.  
  
"Those insects are drones for Beelzebub," said Liam as he came down the stairs, aided by Tenchi and Washu. He sat down on a cushion in front of the couch laid for him by Sasami. She then gave him a cup of tea to warm him a bit more. He looked at the group of women that sat in front of him. Ryoko and Aeka gave him cold stares of distrust. He knew he would have to straighten things out, especially if this Tenchi was the one he was looking for. "Okay, I guess you want some answers now," he began, "so, whadda you wanna know?"  
  
Ryoko was the first to interrogate him. "Who th' hell are you three?"  
  
"My name is Liam DuBarre. I am the Great Knight of Draconus," said the auburn haired boy.  
  
"My name is Pierce Giann. My race is golem. I am a member of the Saga, a group of people who are destined to protect the Great Knight," said Pierce, who sat to Liam's left.  
  
"My name is Manjimaru," said the wolf-boy to Liam's right, "I am a demi-wolf, and a member of the Saga."  
  
Aeka was the next to ask a question. "What are a golem and a demi- wolf?"  
  
"Golems are humans who can turn their skin into an organic, rock-like substance," said Pierce.  
  
"And demi-wolves are like were-wolves. They aren't quite human, or quite wolf," answered Liam. "But they don't change in moonlight." Aeka mumbled something under her breath before Manji could continue.  
  
"Because I'm part wolf," he said, "I can hear and smell things most humans can't. I am ten times stronger than normal people and I can run much faster. By the way, Who is Ryoko, and why did the purple haired woman say that she could pass for my mother?"  
  
Needles to say, Ryoko was livid at the remark. She stood on her feet and pointed at the Juraian princess. "You said what?! I will kill you, Princess Grape-Head!"  
  
Aeka rose from her seat and yelled, "I only said it because it's true, you wretched beast woman!"  
  
Manji was rolling on the floor laughing, holding to his sides in fear that his lungs would burst from the humorous situation that played out before him. "Those two are so funny!" he managed to say between chuckles.  
  
"True," said Washu, "but after a while their routine gets a little tedious." A hole appeared in the floor in front of her. She reached in and pulled out a big, wooden mallet.  
  
WHAM!  
  
BAM!  
  
"Now why are you here?" asked Washu, as Ryoko and Aeka rubbed their heads in pain.  
  
"Because we are looking for this guy named Tenchi," answered Liam.  
  
"I'm Tenchi," he answered, "Why do you need me?"  
  
"Because we're not strong enough to defeat this demon, Beelzebub." The others looked confused. Liam sighed. "Okay, um, see, three hundred years ago, our world was filled with wars and fighting.. A sorcerer name Xander Tyrann wanted to stop the wars. He came up with this theory. The reason there were so many wars was because there was evil. He believed that all people were good by nature, but they become evil because of this dark energy that possesses people. He called this force, 'Il Calgio," which means, 'The Shadow.' He thought if you got rid of the Calgio in peoples hearts, that you would get rid of the wars and stuff."  
  
"Did it work?" asked Mihoshi.  
  
"Well, first he had to see if his theory was true. So he went before the Illuminati with his theory. The Illuminati are, like, the major guild of magi, or magic users. They approved of his idea and allowed him to perform an experiment. He took the corpses of several hundred people and animals and turned them into creatures that were able to suck out the Calgio in people. He called them Shadow Warriors. He sent them to a small town where there was a lot of crime, telling them to suck all of the Calgio out of the bad people. It worked. All of the people in that town became nice, but there were a few problems.  
  
"For one, after a few days, those people would go back to doing' what they did before the Warriors extracted the dark energy. Two, the Warriors would also take a bit of their target's memory. This made them sentient beings, like humans, kinda. Xander found out and changed his plan. He felt it would be safer if they fed the darkness into him. He was wrong.  
  
"All of that dark energy warped his mind. When he changed, the creatures changed with him, from Warriors into Demons. When he returned to the Illuminati, they told him that his experiment failed, and that he would have to stop it. That broke his heart and drove him mad. They told him that his tests proved another theory given by William DuBarre, his nephew and apprentice sorcerer: that although people are good by nature, they naturally can do bad things. Also, Will's theory stated that when people did bad things, their souls produced the energy called Calgio. Xander decided that since humans themselves were the source of evil, the only way to get rid of evil is to kill all humans and human-like beings.  
  
"With his warped mind and army of Shadow Demons, he had the motive and  
  
power to fulfill his greatest dream, the elimination of evil, via mass genocide. He sent  
  
his demons into all of Chima to destroy mankind. William saw Xander's madness and  
  
formed armies to fight against the dark force. During one of these battles, a meteor fell and absorbed the demons. The Illuminati saw this and had the land's greatest weapon-smiths create weapons and armor from the metal in the meteor. They made two sets of armor and twelve weapons: The armor and sword of Draconus, the armor and sword of Aquillas, a spear, a saber, a war hammer, a pair of ninja swords, two boomerangs, an axe, a fighting staff, a magic scepter, a set of claws and a pair of pistols. The armor of Draconus was given to William, and the other weapons were given to the strongest warriors in his army.  
  
"William's forces went out and destroyed many demons. When Xander found out,  
  
he created four super-powerful Demons and sent them abroad. The Demons were to sleep  
  
for three centuries. Meanwhile, the twelve warriors went to Xander's castle and did battle  
  
with him and defeated him. Before Xander died, he placed is soul, memories, and dark  
  
power into fifteen orbs and scattered them abroad the world. The Illuminati knew that this meant that Xander would return to finish the job. So they told the twelve warriors to pass the weapons down to their children, and they would pass them down to their children, and so on.  
  
"So," Liam concluded, "Xander came back about five years ago. And guess who had the 'honor' of inheriting the Armor of Draconus and fighting him?"  
  
"What does that have to do with me?" asked Tenchi.  
  
"Well," asked Liam, "do you remember those four demons I told you about?" There was a moment of silence, but everyone nodded. "Well, one of them has been awoken by some guy who says he wants to destroy the 'Imperial Family of Jurai,' whoever they are. And he's brought that demon here to Okayama looking for them…"  
  
NEXT TIME: Tenchi and the gang meet more of Liam's guardians, and Beelzebub comes after Sasami! What does he want with her? Who does he work for? Why are we asking these ridiculous questions? Find out the answers to two out of three of the queries in "Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies – Chapter One: No Need fro Killer Bees!"  
  
Questions, comments, corrections and flames will all be accepted. Send them to semi-great_enigma@37.com. Thank You.  
  
_Enigma. 


	2. Chapter I: No Need for Killer Bees!

Disclaimer: "Tenchi Muyo!," its characters, and any related images, written or otherwise, are the properties of A.I.C./Pioneer. Their use is not, nor is it the intent of the author for it to be cannon. No monetary compensation was given, or is expected, for the creation of this work. All other characters are the creation of Alexander Curtindolph and Luis Angelo Rojas III, and are not to be used without proper credit in any work. Thank you.  
  
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Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies  
  
Chapter One: No Need for Killer Bees!  
  
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Okayama was in utter panic. Insects as big as a man's torso were attacking innocent people. The Japanese Self Defense Force and police were fighting a losing battle. For every bug they subdued or terminated, two more would appear to replace it. The sting of these monstrous creatures poisoned several SDF soldiers. Those that were just poisoned were considered lucky.  
  
At the epicenter of this catastrophe was a downtown high school. It had become the hive for many of the insects, and the leader of the colony loomed high above them. His eyes were as dark as his heart. His muscular, pale-yellow torso and arms were lined with black scars. His dirty green pants were torn and threadbare from his battle with Liam. His insect-like wings grew from his shoulder blades, and made a sound similar to a buzz saw cutting through sheet metal as they flapped. He surveyed the carnage beneath him with a sneer that would have put the Fear of God into Hitler. How he enjoyed seeing others suffer. In one taloned he held a mace of bronze, in the other he held a young girl.  
  
She was about fifteen years old. Her long hair was as golden as the sun. She wore a tattered white and blue sorcerer's gown. The gown had blue embroideries, sewn to look like Latin, along the cuffs and hem. On the sleeves, near the shoulders, were badges with a coat of arms; a sun insignia on a white shield held by an angel on either side. The robe covered an equally tattered blue silk dress. If they were open, her green eyes would have put the most priceless emerald to shame. She had used up all of her strength protecting her beloved knight Liam, last night. Now, he was surely dead from Beelzebub's poison, and she would join him shortly, no doubt.  
  
"Hear me, oh peasants of Japan," the Shadow Demon proclaimed. "I am Beelzebub, king of insects; and servant of the most high deity, Tokimi. Where is he who calls himself the Great Knight of Draconus? I wish for him to watch his beloved sorceress die."  
  
A mysterious man in a hooded, gray and yellow robe similar to that of the sorceress faded into visibility behind Beelzebub. "Do not become too full of yourself, Wasp," the hooded man warned. "Not even your former master knew what kind of power Liam possesses. Besides, Lady Tokimi has ordered us to wait until he recruits Tenchi before we attack. That way, we can destroy them both at once."  
  
"Yes, Master Calgio," Wasp replied, "If they are together it would make things easier for us to eliminate them. But, what of Liam's guardians, the Saga?"  
  
"Leave them to me," answered Calgio. "I have been waiting for this day for…" Then, in the back of his mind, a loud familiar voice called to him. "Yes, mistress," responded. He waited as she gave him instructions through telepathy, then said, "Yes, I understand and obey." He turned to Wasp. "We have new orders."  
  
"What does she command, master?" asked Wasp.  
  
"She wants us to carry out one final deed before we may carry out our plans," said Calgio. "You are to retrieve the youngest member of the Jurai royal family. They should be northwest of this area."  
  
"I obey, master," said the Beelzebub, who then flew west towards their target, with sorceress in hand. A swarm of insects followed suit. The robed figure remained in the air for a minute. "Now, Tenchi, my revenge on you and your family may truly commence." With a chuckle, Calgio faded back into the air and disappeared.  
  
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Aricelli had been walking through the forests looking for her comrades for several hours. Her pale skin was beaded with rivulets of mountain rain. She wore a black, cotton shirt and leather pants. To cover herself, she also wore a long, black, leather coat. It was specially made with four sleeves so that all of her arms could be accommodated. She remembered Liam saying how she looked like Trinity in that uniform. Whatever reference he was trying to make to her was lost. Her black hair was also wet from the downpour, and covered her red-violet eyes. Strapped to her sides were holsters for her western-style pistols, in case any demons attacked her while she looked for Liam and Roseri.  
  
"Roseri…" the demi-spider sighed. "One would think that, with my agility and keen sight, I would be able to find one sorceress." She wanted to find the Saga, destroy the demon, and go home, badly. She was tired of the gun slinging, and ceaseless war with a demonic force. She longed for a more peaceful life.  
  
She yearned to return to Muria, so that she may be with her husband, Wasp. Wasp? No, he never loved her. He used her to produce heirs to his throne. Twenty-seven children; she had born twenty-seven children with him, and neither she nor they were able to live their own lives. Each of her sons was to be rulers of the demi-insects. Her daughters were to become concubines to other powerful rulers, if not wives. And she was to produce more of each. Even their semi-daily lovemaking had become base and utilitarian after eight years.  
  
"I just couldn't live that kind of life anymore."  
  
Now, she was in a foreign world to stop the monster that was once her most beloved, despite their disagreements. As soon as she could find Rose. She wiped the bangs of her hair away from her eyes as she looked for a sign that her friends were near. Alas, to no avail.  
  
"Aricelli!" cried a small voice from the canopy above her. "I'm glad you're alive! I think I found us some shelter. Come take a look!" The demi- spider leapt into a nearby fur tree and saw a house near a small shrine. It was only a kilometer away. "Good job, West," she replied. "Perhaps we may be able to inquire about our missing allies to the owner of that place." West then flew from a tall tree behind her and landed on her shoulder.  
  
"I hope so, spider-girl," he said, "I really hope so."  
  
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Tenchi's grandfather, Yosho, had come from his shrine for lunch. He was still wearing his kimono, pants and sandals when he saw Tenchi and the resident aliens seated on the couch asking questions to three young men seated on the floor. From what he had could comprehend, a necromancer from the planet Chima created several super-Kagemusha, or Shadow Demons. One of the demons has come to Earth seeking Tenchi, and now, the auburn haired boy, Liam, and his friends have come seeking him out first. The girls, however, seemed to be trying to keep them from completing their goal by asking them many needless questions.  
  
"What is Chima like?"  
  
"Do these demons still exist in your world?"  
  
"If you truly are a knight, then where is your armor?"  
  
Yosho could see the frustration in the green eyes of one of the young men. To ease his annoyance, he decided to ask an important question. "Pardon me, Sir Liam," Yosho began, "but, how did you know of my grandson?"  
  
Liam was visibly relieved. 'Finally, someone with a reasonable question,' he thought. He answered aloud, "My fiancée, Rose, had a premonition. She dreamt that I was getting my but whooped by Beelzebub. Then this dude in strange white armor came and saved me. Then she heard a voice yelling, like, 'Tenchi, help!' But she woke up before she could find out who it was."  
  
"So then," Tenchi asked, "how did you find me?"  
  
"We looked in the phone book," said Manji. "There are only five people in Japan named Tenchi, and you were the closest."  
  
Everyone except Yosho and the three gentlemen face faulted.  
  
"We came to Okayama lookin' for you," said Liam, "But Wasp and his drone insects got here before us. He used his drone army to scatter us all over Tokyo and here. Thank Pater that Pierce found me, or I woulda died."  
  
"Before I was able to escape from Wasp's army, he gave me a message to tell the 'House of Jurai,'" said Pierce.  
  
"WE are of the House of Jurai," said Aeka, a little scared, "what is the message?"  
  
"He said, 'In the name of my mistress, Tokimi, I shall kill your prince, and the Light Hawk Wings will be dimmed,'" recalled the golem. Before any of Tenchi's associates could react to that message, there came a knock at the door.  
  
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"I hope someone's home," said West, who was trying to dry his fur. "Darn mountain rain. This is worse than that time when we went to Seattle." Sasami opened the door and greeted the two strangers. As usual, Ryo-Ohki was seated on her head.  
  
"Hi! How may I help you?" she asked, in a manner that was too cute for words.  
  
"Uh, hi?" Aricelli responded. West saw that she was unable to ask about Liam and the others, so he intervened. As he opened his mouth to speak, the little cabbit on Sasami's head took a small step forward and asked, "Myowr?" ("Who are you?")  
  
"My name is West," answered the gremlin on Aricelli's shoulder.  
  
"Myow myow mya?" Ryo-Ohki inquired. ("How may we help you?")  
  
"We're looking for this red-headed boy named Liam," West replied, "You seen him?"  
  
"Myaaa! Mroww," the cabbit said. ("He's inside! Come in.")  
  
"Yo, spider girl, Liam's inside this house," said West. "Let's go."  
  
"How do you know?" Aricelli asked.  
  
"Animals can understand each other," West explained, "Now c'mon!"  
  
As they entered the house, they saw a group of women seated in front of three familiar figures. 'Methinks we've found a bordello,' thought West. Liam, Pierce, and Manji were seated on the floor, soaking wet from the rain. Liam looked very tired, as though he had been doing exercise, or something else perhaps. 'What would Rose think if she saw Liam like that in front of women like these?'  
  
It was then that the gremlin's attention turned to the ladies themselves. What an odd sight they were. There was a woman with cyan hair, and another whose hair was… Could her hair be purple? There was a black woman who was naturally blonde! And over in the corner of the room, a young girl with hair shaped like a crab was typing into thin air! 'This ain't a bordello, it's another planet entirely!' thought West. Washu looked at him from the corner of her eye and sent a telepathic message that said, 'You aren't too far from the truth.'  
  
'Whoa, you can read my mind?' thought West.  
  
'Well you are a telepath, aren't you?' sent Washu.  
  
'Yeah…' West responded.  
  
' Then, yes, I can speak to you this way,' the genius replied, 'I have some psionic ability myself.'  
  
'Cool,' sent West. 'Ya mind fillin' me in on what's goin' on?'  
  
'Not at all. ^_^' Suddenly, a stream of images filled his mind. Information on the girls, Tenchi, and all of his enemies and battles was implanted into his brain. Since he was sitting on Aricelli's shoulder at the time, she received all of the info as well. When the storm of data had stopped pouring, West and Aricelli were left feeling dazed.  
  
"On the upside," blurted a dizzy West, "at least we know that Liam is okay, and he found Tenchi." The gremlin fell off of the demi-spider's shoulder and wobbled over to where his master sat on the floor. He looked up at Liam and said, "Hello, buddy," and passed out in his lap.  
  
"Before any of you ask," said Liam, "this is my pet gremlin, West, and the woman standing over there is Aricelli."  
  
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Roseri had finally awoken, only to find herself in the hands of Beelzebub. She was stuffed inside a net made of silken thread that was woven to look like a spider's web. The net was slung over Wasp's shoulder, and he was rapidly flying over a heavily forested area. She writhed to get free, but failed miserably. "Let me go at once!" she screamed. "What do you want from me?"  
  
Wasp looked down at his hostage and said, "We are to exchange you for one more… powerful. No harm shall come to you if you comply."  
  
"And if I don't?" Rose asked.  
  
"Then you die," said Wasp. Rose had no other choice. She had to acquiesce for the time being. She thought of a method of attacking her captor once she was released, as she peered down a grove of cherry trees that passed underneath her. Then Rose began to sense something familiar, or rather, someone. Her telepathic abilities allowed her to pick up on a set of unique brainwave patterns. These patterns could only belong to…  
  
'Liam! He's alive! Praises be to Pater," Rose thought. 'There is yet hope. If Liam can find the man from my dream before Wasp does, we can defeat this monster.' Her thoughts were suddenly halted when Wasp came to a sudden, midair stop. He held up his arm for a large firefly to perch on. When it landed, the bug used its wings to buzz a message to its master.  
  
"I see," said Wasp. He then turned to his swarm of dragonflies, mantises, and bees off all varieties. "My legion, our prey is but a few kilometers north of here. Our scout shall guide us to her. She must be brought back to master Calgio alive. All who try to get in our way shall be thoroughly stung." The firefly then flew off in the direction of the Masaki home. "Forward to glory!" The Beelzebub flew behind his scout and his horde of insects trailed behind him.  
  
'Yes, Wasp, lead me to the man called Tenchi,' thought Rose. 'Perhaps, if Liam has not enlisted his aid, then I may do so.'  
  
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"Hey, West!" exclaimed Manji. "Where have you been?" You've been missing for a long time."  
  
West awakened from his stupor, turned to Manji and said, "Dude, we've only been separated since ten last night. By th' way, Liam, didja get to ask Tenchi to help us with our little demon problem?"  
  
"Well," said Liam, "if these women would stop playing 'twenty questions with me, I…" Liam's train of thought was derailed when his gauntlets started glowing red. He turned and noticed that Manji was growling at the window. "A demon."  
  
"I can hear bees," said the demi-wolf, "lots of bees." He sniffed the air near the window. "It's Wasp." He sniffed again. "And he's got Rose!" Manji curled his hands into tight fists and squeezed. This triggered a mechanism in his gloves that shot two, thin blades from their cylindrical chambers from within each of his forearm guards and locked them in place right behind the knuckles. Pierce stood up and tapped his right gauntlet. A dim red light shone from the gem on his glove and spread to the palm of his hand. The luminescence formed into a long, wooden pole. It was painted red, and at either end of the pole was a metal cap with several short spikes ticking out of it. Liam arose from the floor as well and pulled out two medallions from under his sweater.  
  
"If that refugee from 'Starship Troopers' hurt her," Liam growled, "I'll send him to Hell!" He then turned to Tenchi and the girls. "I understand if you don't want to help us. It is gonna be dangerous."  
  
A deep and booming voice called out to them from outside, saying, "Bring me the youngest of Jurai, or all within your house will die! This young sorceress shall be the first!"  
  
"They want Sasami?" asked Tenchi.  
  
"Sounds like it," said West.  
  
"I can't let them take her," Tenchi replied. He pulled a long wooden sword handle from his back pocket. The handle, Liam noted, was well carved, decorated in an almost art-neuvou style. Tenchi closed his eyes and a blade of blue energy sprung forth from where the hilt would be. "I'm goin' with you." Tenchi said as he readied the sword, Tenchi-Ken.  
  
"Cool light saber," said Liam, "but that ain't gonna stop the demons, young Jedi." Liam took one of the medallions and tossed it to Tenchi. "Use this."  
  
Tenchi grabbed the pendant and looked at the design. On one side of the medallion was an eagle, upright with spread wings and a sword in its left foot. On the other side was a coat of arms. A dragon on the left and an eagle on the right were holding up a shield with a tree standing in front of a sun. "What am I supposed to do with this?" asked Tenchi.  
  
"Do as I do," answered Liam. He took the medallion and cupped it with his arms stretched in front of him, bowed his head and prayed. Tenchi disengaged the blade of Tenchi-Ken and did likewise. As the two warriors prayed, a circle of light began to surround each of them. The circles grew from the floor at their feet into a pair of columns that enveloped them. A strong wind blew through the house and swirled around the two standing figures. With a blinding flash, the pillars of light disappeared and the wind suddenly died. Tenchi then realized that he was no longer in his clothes, but a suit of armor.  
  
His pants were replaced with metal foot, shin, knee, and thigh guards. His waist was covered with plates of the same metal as the greaves he wore on his legs. His torso and shoulders now bore a chest plate and shoulder guards. His arms were covered in the metal also. He wore leather gloves similar to those that Liam wore. Strapped to his left arm was a shield, about three feet in diameter, which bore the same coat of arms as the medallion did. In his right hand was a very ornate sword. It looked like Liam's, except that the hilt looked like the wings of a bird, and not a dragon. His helmet resembled the head of a falcon or hawk that had engulfed his head. The entire suit of armor was metallic green. Liam's armor looked the same, save that it was red, and his helmet looked like a dragon's head.  
  
"Okay guys," said Liam, "Let's go!" With that, all of Liam's allies left the house. Tenchi was about to follow them but something held on to his leg and wouldn't let him move. He looked down to see Aeka, deftly clinging to him.  
  
"Please Tenchi-Sama, don't go out there," pleaded Aeka. "Those horrid bugs might poison you as they did that boy, and you'll die!"  
  
"I'll be okay," said Tenchi, in a comforting tone, "Liam's out there too, and he knows how to handle those demons better than I do. But I can't let this Beelzebub get Sasami. I have to stop him. I'll come back safely, I promise."  
  
"I'm goin' too," said Ryoko. A bar of yellow laser energy materialized in her hand, and she brandished it as though it were a sword. "C'mon, Tenchi. Let's go kick some thorax!"  
  
"I think that it would be best if we all came with you," said Washu. "I just scanned the area, and you and Liam's gang would be out-numbered fifty to one. If we all help, the odds will lean in our favor just a bit."  
  
"Tenchi thought about this for a minute. He gently pulled Aeka off of his leg, and then gave Tenchi-Ken to his grandfather. "Okay, let's go," he said. 'Heh,' he thought as the left the house, 'they're as resilient as ever.'  
  
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Wasp was now hovering in front of the house. The rain was till cascading from the black clouds above. His white hair was hanging from his head, coarse and wet. His horde of drone insects was buzzing behind him, ready to attack at a moment's notice. Roseri was dangling lifelessly from his left arm.  
  
"Come forth, House of Jurai, and deliver youngest unto me, or this one from the House of Mikale dies!" said Wasp, whose voice carried even over the thunderclaps.  
  
"You better not hurt her, Wasp," warned Liam; "I am not in a good mood right now."  
  
"You suffer from depression, Liam," said West from behind, "You're never in a good mood."  
  
"And we'd never give you Sasami anyway, you vile cretin!" Aeka proclaimed as she and the other residents of the Masaki home came to the aid of their allies.  
  
"Very well," said Wasp as he lifted his mace above his head, letting it gain momentum so that it may crush Rose. He floated to where Liam and the others were standing when a shot came from behind him. A small orb of fire impacted with his left shoulder. He cried out in anguish and pain. He dropped Rose and his mace and used his right hand to grab his wounded shoulder.  
  
Rose quickly landed on her feet and pressed the jewel on her gold bracelet. The bracelet began to sine and from the light materialized a scepter. It was a long blue pole with a glass orb attached to the end of it. Encircling the orb were four elliptical blades, which held the orb in place and doubled as a short-range attack weapon. She aimed the scepter at Wasp's abdomen. A blast of light erupted from the orb and made impact with its target.  
  
Rose turned and ran to Liam. She embraced her lover tightly, basking in the knowledge that they were together again. As they embraced, another gunshot was heard, and a second fireball flew to where Wasp stood. He flew out of the way just in time, although several of his drones got burned in the process. He turned toward the woods where the shot originated.  
  
Manji and Ryoko both saw this as the perfect opportunity to exterminate the demonic pest that loomed before them. Ryoko teleported towards the Beelzebub and slashed at his wounded shoulder repeatedly. Wasp reached behind him and tossed Ryoko into the trunk of a nearby tree. Manji jumped on his back and proceeded to claw at his chest, head, and arms. A giant dragonfly swatted him off before he could do any serious damage. Wasp's attention turned once again to the woods, and a familiar, four-armed woman, brandishing two pistols, walked from behind a tree.  
  
"Remember me, husband?" asked Aricelli. "What I do now, I do out of love." She raised her upper-right arm and aimed the gun in its hand.  
  
"Destroy her!" commanded Wasp. The insects obeyed, and zoomed towards Aricelli. She leaped and bounded out of the way, shooting at any insect that got too close. Soon she found that she couldn't avoid all of the advances made by the swarm. It was fortunate that she was immune to all natural poisons; otherwise she would have died from all of the stings, bites, and scratches that she received. She was about to accept her fate, when several small logs floated around the bugs. She jumped out of the way as a massive surge of electricity spewed from the logs and fried the swarm.  
  
"And that is how one should zap bugs!" said Aeka, boisterously. Wasp flew in a heated rage toward the Juraian princess, but was halted when Yosho chopped off his entire left arm. He and Pierce stood in front of Aeka and Sasami, barring any passage.  
  
"We shall not let you harm any of our friends," said Pierce. Ryoko pulled herself from the tree and teleported behind Wasp. Liam and Tenchi ran to each of his sides. "There is no escape." The golem's skin began to become dense, hardening into a hard rock that covered his body. Wasp scratched at him with his talons. The claws penetrated his stone skin, but didn't show any visible damage. Pierce then jabbed the demon in the chest with his fighting staff, which was followed by a roundhouse kick to the head. Wasp recovered quickly from this, and countered by concentrating all of his energy into his right hand, and releasing it in a grand blast at Pierce. This forced Pierce to stumble backwards and trip on top of Aeka. Wasp took this opportunity to fly away to more open ground behind the group.  
  
Liam charged towards Beelzebub and slashed at his ribs. Beelzebub flew up to avoid the attack. The very force of his sword stroke sent a gust of wind at Wasp. The gust cut at the demon's chest like a sharp blade and caused him to yell in pain once again. While he was pre occupied, Liam picked up the mace that Wasp had dropped and flung it at his head. A plague of locusts caught the mace and let it drop silently to the grass below them, and then dove after Liam. Tenchi ran to his aid and tried to kill the bugs, but did very poorly. "They're moving too fast!" said Tenchi, "I can't hit 'em!" They got tackled and mauled by the grain eating insects, and could do little to defend themselves. Wasp looked down upon the carnage the insects were causing and laughed in a most sinister fashion.  
  
Rose had seen enough of the violence and decided to put an end to it. She held her scepter above her head and began to invoke a spell. "I summon thee, oh, great spirit beast of lightning. Come forth from the torrential heavens and aid thy fellow children of God! LUPINUS!" All of the mountains around the Masaki Shrine began to tremble with thunder as a wolf, made of lightning, descended from the cloudy sky. Everyone on the field looked in awe at the mighty creature.  
  
"Is that Raiju, the legendary thunder beast?" asked Yosho.  
  
"No," answered Pierce, who had recovered from the ki blast he had received, "that is Lupinus, a spirit beast." The lightning wolf let out a mournful howl that set loose a thousand bolts of energy from the sky. The flashes were so bright, that everyone had to avert their gaze as the lightning struck down all of the insects, even those within the city. When the lightning stopped, the sky above them began to clear, and the electric wolf was gone.  
  
"Amazing," breathed Washu.  
  
"Pocket Monsters, eat your accursed hearts out," said West.  
  
Mihoshi had been cowering in the doorway as the battle took place. She sat with her face within her lap and her hands atop her head, waiting for the demon to be defeated. "Are the icky bugs… gone?" she asked, as she stuck her head up to survey the land.  
  
"Yes," said Aricelli, as she slowly hobbled to where the others stood, "and so is my husband."  
  
"Your what?" inquired Aeka, indignantly. "You mean the heartless creature is your spouse?"  
  
"Yes.' the demi-spider said, softly.  
  
"Well," said Aeka, "Sasami, are you okay?" she turned to see that her sister was not behind her as she was a few minutes ago. "Sasami?" She heard a load scream for help and boisterous laughter were pealing through the sky.  
  
"Chikuso!" cursed Ryoko, "Sasami!" She flew off to find her and the Beelzebub. She searched the horizons for any sign of the two but could find none. Ryoko floated in the middle of the air and screamed in rage and frustration.  
  
'AAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH! DAMN YOU, BEELZEBUB!"  
  
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NEXT TIME: Washu tries to find Sasami and Wasp, but they both seemed to have disappeared from the universe! Tenchi and the crew now know that in order to save their friend, they will have to ally themselves with Liam and the Saga. Will they be able to trust Liam and his friends? Will Washu find Sasami? Who will cook everyone's dinner? Find out in "Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies – Chapter Two: We Need To Unite!" or "A Time to All Things!"  
  
A/N: I've finally updated Chapter One! It's a little more exciting, and a little more in character. I plan to update all chapters of the Beelzebub storyline before moving on. I would like to thank DeathGiver (deathgiver2000@yahoo.com) for e-mailing me and calling me on that OOC part in this chapter. As you may see, I decided to beef up the story and eliminate a few of the plot holes, or add more depending on your point of view. Write to me and tell me what you think of the updates at enigma@iamdstudents.com or semi-great_enigma@37.com. Ja ne!  
  
-Enigma 


End file.
